CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Chicago fans used to hold up signs touting
Michael Jordan for President. They got their wish, but Jordan
took his act to the nation's capital, where he became president
of the Washington Wizards. No absentee votes were allowed.

That sentiment means a lot in the legend's absence as the
Wizards rallied to take down the Bulls in the house that Jordan
built, handing Chicago its fourth straight loss to start the
season, 88-83.

With 1:25 remaining, Brad Miller turned over the ball and Gerard
King made a layup to break a 79-79 tie and put the Wizards ahead
for good.

"I was just happy to see someone step up and make plays at the
end," said Washington coach Leonard Hamilton. "I'm really happy
with the win. We played good defense but didn't shoot well at
all."

Ironically, the Bulls' 13-year sellout streak ended at 610
games. It was the first time they played before empty seats at
home since November 17, 1987 against the Washington Bullets. The
streak included 515 regular-season games and 95 playoff
contests.

Rod Strickland, who made back-to-back layups to forge the
deadlock, fed Mitch Richmond for a 21-foot jumper, opening an
83-79 lead with 43.5 seconds left. Rookie Khalid El-Amin
answered with a short jumper, but Strickland made two free
throws for an 85-81 cushion with 30.8 seconds remaining.

"Tonight I was trying to be aggressive and just take it to the
basket," Strickland said. "Even though I didn't make many
shots, I did get to the line for the free throws."

Felipe Lopez blocked a short jumper by Ron Mercer and Richmond
added a free throw for a five-point edge. Chicago got no closer
than three thereafter as Mercer missed a pair of 3-pointers and
El-Amin another.

Strickland made 13-of-17 free throws and finished with 21 points
and eight assists, while Chris Whitney added 17 points off the
bench and Jahidi White chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"I got a few to go down" Whitney said. "We wanted to win this
for (Jordan), also ourselves because we need the victory. But
tonight we were thinking about him, too."

Washington shot a dreadful 13 percent from the field (3-of-23)
in the first quarter. The Wizards had been anchored by Juwan
Howard, who led the team with 15.3 points per game. But he shot
1-of-5 in the opening period, finishing 2-of-10 in the first
half.

With 6:14 remaining in the second quarter, the Wizards tied it
at 29-29 on a free throw by White.

Brand sparked the Bulls with 10 points, four rebounds and two
blocked shots in the last seven minutes of the first half. Fred
Hoiberg's steal with 15.9 seconds to go led to Brand's layup and
gave Chicago a 41-40 halftime lead.

But Washington held Brand to one point after halftime and
controlled the boards, 44-37. After a turnover by Brand,
White's offensive rebound led to a follow shot that put
Washington ahead. The Wizards took a 62-56 lead into the final
period.

"It's tough to lose one like this. We were up by four with just
a few minutes left," Brand said. "We didn't have any continuity
in our offense. We played good defense, but we couldn't do it
down the stretch."

The game was tied again with 8:53 in the fourth on a jumper by
Marcus Fizer, but a three-pointer by Whitney put the Wizards
back in front, 69-68.

Late in the fourth quarter, Miller broke a bone in his right
hand and could be sidelined three to four weeks, although
surgery is not expected.

The Wizards did not commit any turnovers in the fourth quarter,
while the Bulls allowed 21 points off 16 turnovers for the game.